Fort Hembree

Tennessee militia established Fort Hembree 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the present town of Hayesville, North Carolina, in October 1837 to prepare for deporting local Cherokee Native Americans during the Trail of Tears. The fort was under the command of General Winfield Scott. Within two week Scott's forces captured around 1,000 Cherokee people who were held prisoner at the fort. A number of Cherokees were stricken with illness (thought to be measles) while at Fort Hembree and died at the site. The remainder were marched from there to Fort Butler near present-day Murphy and then to deportation camps in Tennessee.